Amphoras Blu Ultra-All Inclusive Adults Only

The Amphoras Blu is on the tip of the Om El Seid cliff, the promontory that in Sharm el Sheikh carries the name Hadaba, in Salah Taher Street, some twenty metres above sea level and with an open view over the Red Sea and the islands of Tiran. It is the hotel that until recently was called Shores Aloha and that today belongs to the Amphoras group together with the Amphoras Beach and the Amphoras Aqua, which are on the same street.

The house counts 206 rooms, all with a terrace or balcony facing the garden, the pool or the sea: 157 doubles, 43 triples and 6 quadruples. The furnishings are in dark oak, the bathrooms clad in marble, and the fittings include a television with international channels, a minibar, a safe, a hairdryer and air conditioning. The ultra all inclusive formula adds a fruit basket and biscuits on arrival, daily restocking of the minibar, an evening turndown service, a laundry bag included for stays of seven nights and the packing of luggage on departure.

Beach, pool and wellness area

The beach is private and gives direct access to a snorkelling spot on the reef, with beach volleyball and football on the sand. The pool is a single basin that joins a heated part and a whirlpool zone, served by the Palma Pool Bar. The wellness area brings together a whirlpool, a sauna and a steam bath; the sauna is given by the property as a paid service, while use of the gym, the spinning classes, the cross fit and the padel courts is included. The website publishes no rule on swimwear in the sauna. Diving is done with the partner centre El Dawley.

The table

The main restaurant is the Aloha, a buffet: breakfast from 7 to 10, lunch from 12.30 to 14.30, a tea and coffee break from 15 to 17, dinner from 18.30 to 21.30, late dinner from 23 to one and midnight snacks until 5 in the morning. The Mare Rosso serves pasta, pizza and Mediterranean dishes à la carte from 10 to 21.30, with no limit on bookings. Anyone staying here may also dine in the restaurants of the sister hotel Amphoras Beach: Bella Vista for Italian cooking, Red Dragon for Asian, Mermaid for fish.

The age, and a contradiction worth knowing

The official website is explicit and writes Adults Only 16+ next to the property's name: the declared threshold is therefore sixteen years. The booking portal confines itself to saying that children are not allowed, without giving a figure, so the two sources do not contradict each other on the principle but only on the detail, and this entry keeps the number published by the property. It should be flagged, though, that the pool and beach page mentions an area for children and activities for guests of all ages: it is text the group uses for its sister hotels too, which are open to families, and it clashes with the rule declared on the home page. Anyone travelling with a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old, or anyone who wants the certainty of not finding children, should have the rule confirmed in writing at the time of booking.

It suits anyone looking for the all-inclusive formula on the Red Sea without children around who puts snorkelling before everything. It suits less anyone who wants a large, many-sided spa: here the wellness area is essential and the sauna is paid for separately.